Gems from 1959: Tomorrowland

Continuing with the set of images I introduced last week come these gems from Tomorrowland. I always love seeing photos of the Spaceman and Spacegirl. Standing by the Tomorrowland Skyway Station, these two young boys seem thrilled to be able to pose with these futuristic characters.

Next up are two from the Autopia, where kids could pretend to be adults and drive a car around the paved roads of Tomorrowland.





For 1959, this photo captures most of the major new attractions: The Matterhorn, The Submarine Voyage, and The Monorail (well, the track at least!). Visible on the left is the Yacht Bar.



For those wanting a better shot of The Yacht Bar, thanks to the Franklyn Taylor collection, your dream can come true!



Gotta' zoom in to see what's going on inside:



Last one for today shows the Triton Submarine:



See more vintage & current Disneyland Tomorrowland photos on my Tomorrowland web pages.

Old School Disneyland Primer, Pt. 2

Still enjoying your time travel trip back to Disneyland circa 1950's? Today will provide a few more tiny tips to help keep you from being disoriented in the Disneyland of yore. You can still hop aboard the Disneyland Railroad and journey over to Tomorrowland. That much hasn't changed. In fact, you can even travel on the exact same train (The E.P. Ripley), as seen in this October 2011 comparison photo:



Obviously the landscaping has matured over the years. If you decide to head over to the Submarine Voyage, that might be where the biggest shock occurs. If you're expecting the bright yellow subs that take you to visit Nemo, you'll be greatly disappointed. Or actually, in my case...you'll be very happy. In this July 1959 photo, guests are enjoying the recently christened Disneyland fleet of submarines that take them on a magical journey through liquid space. In all of its gray glory, The Triton sub looks like it just came from U.S. Government surplus.



Today, this is what you'd see at the very same dock:



Here is a glorious view of The Autopia & The Monorail, circa 1959. Just like today, the area is scented with the fumes of gasoline.



For all you detail nuts, I've zoomed in on a few portions of this particular shot:



Let's face it; the heart of that image is the gleaming Red Monorail, recently christened by the Nixon family:



If Tomorrowland is too newfangled for you, you could always wander over to Frontierland and visit Tom Sawyer's Island. These July 1959 young ladies are crossing the Suspension Bridge. Hope they don't drop their purses and brochures into the water!



The bridge is still there today, but it's got all kinds of pirate stuff nearby. In fact, Tom Sawyer is barely a memory here as Jack Sparrow and his gang have pretty much taken over the island.



Pirates or not, I have to admit that the Island is still very lively and the youngsters seem to get a huge kick out of exploring it. The only disappointment I saw the other week on my most recent visit was a number of kids checking out Fort Wilderness and trying to open up the gates. Like the rest of us, they want to be able to go inside like the original guests of Disneyland could.

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web page.

July 1965 @ Disneyland, Pt. 4

Here we are in the heart of Tomorrowland, July 1965. Douglas is in, TWA is out. For all you Cox fans, here’s a closeup of the Flight Circle; for you non-Cox people, just check out the fun 60’s fashions instead:



There’s something about the original blue Monorail that I just love even more than the Red one.



Look how happy that guest is to be in the cone!



Down below, we have the Triton about to submerge beneath the falls of the Submarine Voyage:



And a blurry view through the porthole:



See more Disneyland photos at my website.

Submarine Voyage

Today’s group of guests took an undated underwater trip on the Submarine Voyage’s Triton. Take a look at those little varmints peaking out the sub portole windows.



Maybe this Panavue slide shows what they are intently watching:



The little varmints must have worked up a hunger; time to feed them in Tomorrowland. Thanks to E-Ticket Tim for identifying it as The Space Bar.



See more vintage Disneyland Submarine Voyage photos at my main website.